 SST began as a Certificate of Initial Mastery program called the School of Natural Resources Science and Technology (NRST) in 1993, and was one of the magnet programs at the then-new Merlo Station High School, located on S.W.Merlo Drive just west of the then-planned Merlo Road/SW 158th MAX Light Rail station (which opened in 1998).The school occupied an old warehouse, which was renovated a few months before the program's opening.